Denver 4/20 marijuana rally organizer: We'll lay off the grass

Marijuana enthusiast Kave Man, lights up during a Civic Center Park 420 celebration on Tuesday, April 20, 2010. (attn copy desk: this is the name he gave me) Diego James Robles, The Denver Post pot rally

The organizer of a rally expected to draw tens of thousands of people to smoke marijuana in Civic Center on Saturday says concerns about the event's damage to the park are overblown.

Rally-goers will lay off the grass, Miguel Lopez said.

"We know that we're heavily criticized, so we go out of our way to make sure the park is cleaned up every year," said Lopez, who organizes the annual April 20 pro-marijuana rally, known as 4/20, in Civic Center.

The event, which this year is surrounded by numerous other marijuana-centric parties and concerts, is expected to draw record numbers in its first occurrence since Colorado became one of the first two states in the country to legalize marijuana use for adults. Public consumption of marijuana — like what happens during the 4/20 rally — remains illegal.

But some of the most vocal concerns about the event have come from a Denver city councilman worried about whether rally attendees will trash the park's snow-sodden grass. Councilman Charlie Brown has also questioned why the rally — which allows vendor booths — is held under a city assembly permit and not a festival permit. Assembly permits are used for free-speech rallies, and the city typically does not require damage deposits for groups that obtain them.

"That's going to be a soggy park come Saturday," Brown said this week. "I just think they could rip it apart."

But Lopez said 4/20 organizers have an insurance policy that will pay for any damage the rally causes to the grass or other park amenities. He said rally- goers also usually stick to the park's paved pathways and congregate in the Greek Amphitheater.

He said a meeting with Denver parks officials helped ease concerns.

"They're really confident with us being really good stewards, as we have in the past," Lopez said. "We've always taken responsibility for our cleanup responsibilities."

Denver Parks spokesman Jeff Green said parks leaders met with Lopez on Thursday. He said the department will monitor conditions in the park and may fence off some areas if that's needed to prevent damage.

"The organizers and parks share the same philosophy," Green said. "We really want to protect the park but also make sure they can have a good event."

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold